Replicate Silicon Valleys: Can you do it right?

BBC starts an eight-part series called The Next Silicon Valleys recently. Silicon Valley, famous as “world’s supreme entrepreneurial hotspot, generating a seemingly endless supply of new technologies, new companies, and huge wealth”, is the hub of innovation and venture capital industry. Seeing Silicon Valley’s successful story, there are three armies of cities, regions and countries want to replicate its model. From Las Vegas to London, New York to Shenzhen, Rwanda to Russia, entrepreneurial cities are thriving as Slate says in its The Next Silicon Valley special section. However, can they do it right? BBC helps us to unveil the secrets behind Silicon Valley and its unshakable position.

Silicon Valley is a unique amalgam of academia, private sector and US government research investment coupled with a population of (serial) entrepreneurs. It is altogether a remarkable, vibrant and innovative culture that continues to produce dividends decade after decade. — Vint Cerf.

Silicon Valley is not so easy to replicate. One reason is time: the Valley is also the oldest high-tech community on Earth. A second reason is location. The third reason is infrastructure. All of these factors combined to create a fourth reason for the success, and singularity, of Silicon Valley: culture. — Michael S. Malone

Any region wanting to build its version of Silicon Valley should focus on its people and culture. — Vivek Wadhwa

Silicon Valley is a unique combination of universities, companies, venture investors, culture, weather, all sorts of things that come to play to create Silicon Valley. — Judy Estrin

From quotes, analysis and experiences, we’ve heard one word in common: culture. Silicon Valley has its own unique entrepreneurial culture, and by copying its venture capital ecosystem or simply enhancing government’s incentives for start-up companies cannot reach the target. But for various places around the world, each of them has its own specialty to be Silicon Alley, Silicon Hills, Silicon Forest, Silicon Prairie, Silicon Square, or Silicon Wadi. And among them, one cannot be sure there won’t emerge the next Silicon Valley. Or, for those duplicators, probably make the first step as being innovative will help more than anything else: adopt a new name instead of being merely a silhouette of Silicon Valley.

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